Can you see clearly?

Today, I’d like to open with a brief excerpt from my brand new, hot off the press book –  a fairy tale called The Quest.

In the story, young Esperanza dreams of a life beyond the dark village where she lives. She encounters Mai-Lyn and Sienna along the way, and the trio embarks on a perilous quest from the village to the magical garden where the King dwells. In one chapter, a knight takes the girls behind a waterfall and asks them what they see as they look out through the flow of rushing water.  After trying to picture scenes from their journey, the knight said:

“You each see many things that you’ve seen before. But look again; do you see them clearly?”

The girls squinted, peering out through the cascade of water, looking out to the garden and beyond. They had to agree. Though they could discern the places they’d been, they could not see any of them clearly.

“This is how it is when for those who live in the village. My Father and I created all that you see and were meant to enjoy. But those who dwell across the chasm see a poor reflection of what I intended. The lies and deceptions create a veiled view of what truth is.

“What you think is love is at best a deep friendship, and at worst an exploitive relationship. It differs greatly from the sacrificial love that my Father and I have for you.

“In the village, you feel disappointment because you expect perfection, both in yourself and in others, but nothing can truly be perfect apart from a relationship with my Father and me.”

Mai-Lyn opened her mouth to speak, then quickly shut it.

“You want to be strong and independent, but that can lead to isolation. You were called to be strong within community. There is beauty in being part of something greater than yourself, depending upon those even stronger than yourself, and helping those less fortunate.

“You strive to achieve great things, but you miss the greatest thing—your true worth that comes from my Father, the King.

“Let us go now to meet him.”

In 1 Cor. 13, the famous “love chapter,” Paul describes true love, agape love, thay unconditional, patient, kind, perfect love that the Father has for us, His daughters. And then he says,

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” 1 Cor 13:12NLT

So often, when we look at our lives, the people and circumstances that surround us, we think we see it all clearly. But like looking through a waterfall or a reflection in a mirror, what we see is imperfect. Only God with His omniscient vision can see it all clearly. He can see the present and with it – people’s motives, extenuating circumstances, the bigger picture. He can see the future, and consequently, He has no worries about the outcome.

Our only course of action is to fully understand that we don’t know it all, even if we think we do, and to trust the One who does. As Paul says,

We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. . . . But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. V. 10&13 MSG

Although the book hasn’t officially launched yet, The Quest is available on Amazon. For more information on or to order, visit https://amzn.to/2I5UGXA.

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